Reflections on the Déithe and an-déithe, living Paganism in a modern world, and devotion to the Daoine Maithe

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Thursday, September 21, 2017

Måran - Night Mares

The following is an excerpt from my new book 'Following the Fairy Path' which should be released in 2018. It will be the third book in my Fairycraft series. This excerpt is discussing one particular type of spirit being or fairy that comes at night and torments sleepers.

The Nightmare, John Fuseli, 1781, public domain

Måran

They
are a type of being who come at night while you are sleeping, paralyzing you, and
bring fear and nightmares. The name for them, Måran or singular Mår is related
to the same root word we get our modern word nightmare from, and indeed that is
why we have the word – nightmare, night mare, a mare that comes at night. Mare
is the Old English while Mår is the German which I use to avoid confusion with
mare meaning a female horse. The word Måran is usually translated as goblins,
night-goblins, or incubi but I would suggest that Måran are best understood as
entirely their own type of being. Much like so many other of the beings we have
discussed they are not straightforward though, and there are also some Mår who
are human witches with the ability to intentionally or unwittingly project to
people at night and oppress them, and as well Måran are often confused with
other similar nighttime beings and occasionally with elves (Seo Helrune, 2017).
It is important when dealing with them to learn to differentiate between a
possible attack from another human that has the same symptoms as the Måran, malicious
activity by elves, and activity by Måran.

In
folklore Måran are always seen as female beings and it is possible to capture
them, usually by blocking whatever place they entered through; it was believed
that unless they could go out exactly as they had come in they lost their power
(Ashliman, 2005). In several stories a man captured a Mår and then married her,
something much like we see in the Selkie tales, and the new wife would act like
any other human woman, even giving him children, but if she could ever get him
to show her the place she’d entered that he’d blocked and clear it she’d leave
immediately. In one tale a Mår is captured when the victim stays awake and sees
her enter as a cat and then nails one of her paws to the floor; by morning she has
transformed to a young woman (Ashliman, 2005).

When
Måran appear they generally come alone and afflict a person in their sleep by
perching on their chest. They cause a feeling of paralysis and fear, and can
also sometimes make breathing difficult, creating a feeling of pressure or
weight on the chest. In folklore they can kill both people and animals (Ashliman,
2005). An old term for this is ‘Old Hag’ although nowadays its known as sleep
paralysis and scientific explanations remove spirits from the equation (Seo
Helrune, 2017). Some people who are attacked by Måran also experience a sexual
overtone to the experience which is partially why the word was translated as
incubi and also why I think they are associated with elves, who themselves were
often associated with incubi as well. It should be noted however that elves or
in this case specifically the Anglo-Saxon aelfe were usually male and the Måran
were believed to be female beings, suggesting that we may indeed be looking at
two different beings here with a similar method of attack in some cases. This
idea is supported by Alaric Hall in his article ‘The Evidence for Maran: The
Anglo-Saxon ‘Nightmares’ in which he argues persuasively that Måran were in
fact always seen as female and the translation of incubi was an early confusion
between texts, and might more properly have been given as succubi.

Because
attacks by Måran where not uncommon in the past there are many methods of
dealing with them. Blocking the keyhole (if the door has one), placing your
shoes backwards – ie laces facing the bed - by the bed, and then climbing into
bed backwards can protect you from attack; animals can be protected by placing
a broom near them (Ashliman, 2005). Also Måran like many fairies, ghosts, and
spirits can be warded off with iron which should be placed near or under the
bed. A salve or powder can be made with herbs including Lupin, Betony and
Garlic (Seo Helrune, 2017). Mugwort can also be burned to ward off dangerous
spirits. There are also a variety of charms to protect against Måran, such as
this one which uses a single hair of the person’s head to mime tying up the Mår
while saying:

“The man of might

He rode at night

With neither sword

Nor food nor light,

He sought the
mare,

He found the mare,

He bound the mare

With his own hair,

And made her swear

By mother’s might,

That she would
never bide a night

What he had trod,
that man of might.”

(Black,
1903; language modified from Shetland Scots)

There
is also this one from Germany:

“I lay me here to sleep;

No night-mare
shall plague me,

Until they swim
all the waters

That flow upon the
earth,

And count all the
stars

That appear in the
firmament!”

(Ashliman,
2005).

I
have had an experience with a mår once so far. I have never had sleep paralysis
before in my life but I woke up in the middle of the night, unable to move or
speak, surrounded by a pervasive sense of malevolence and dread. There was a
strong sense of presence with this and a kind of impending doom. At first I was
disoriented, because I'd been asleep but then honestly I got really angry
because I'd had a long difficult day and I was so not in the mood to deal with
anything supernatural. I drove the spirit off and forced it out of the house by
visualizing bright light shoving it away. Took several minutes of slow effort
but it worked.

In
talking later with other people on social media I was surprised to find out how
common these encounters seemed to be among people I knew, even casually. I
think for those who deal with extra-ordinary things and Otherworldly beings
it’s important to be aware of the Måran and know how to combat them if they
attack either you or anyone you know.

About Me

find me on twitter at https://twitter.com/MorganDaimler
or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morgandaimler/
My name is Morgan Daimler. I have been a witch since 1991, following a path based on the Fairy Faith blended with neopagan witchcraft. I love studying other paths and other ways of doing things and I enjoy discussing religion, philosophy and spirituality with people from diverse path. I try to stay active in the pagan community and am always interested in hearing about how other people are doing things.
I have had my poetry and prose published in different places including eight anthologies, Circle magazine, as well as Witches and Pagans magazine. I am the author of the book By Land, Sea, and Sky, the children's book a Child's Eye View of the Fairy Faith which is published through Spero Publishing, and through Moon Books: Where the Hawthorn Grows, Fairy Witchcraft, Pagan Portals: the Morrigan, Pagan Portals: Irish Paganism, Pagan Portals: Brigid, Pagan Portals Gods and Goddesses of Ireland. I also have a self published urban fantasy/paranormal romance series, Between the Worlds.